The Doctrine of Don Draper
Anti-heroes are becoming more and more popular across entertainment platforms. Audiences have grown tired of the black & white, good versus evil dynamic. Instead, unorthodox characters with flaws and convoluted motives like Walter White, Tony Soprano, or Jack Sparrow (captain, that is) are represented. Ideally, these gray figures are more realistic and establish a stronger connection with the audience. Although they aren’t necessarily optimal role models, anti-heroes captivate us with their brilliance, emotion, and unconventional style amid moral failures.
Don Draper, one of Madison Avenue’s top advertising men played magnificently by Jon Hamm in the AMC drama Mad Men, is peak anti-hero. Don is intelligent, but it’s his charisma and people skills that allowed him to find success as the top creative mind at one of New York’s finest ad agencies. Throughout the show, Don finds himself on the wrong side of morality more often than he does the right, but it’s through those failures and moments of weakness where he shows true personal growth, and it is what eventually leads to his final creative breakthrough.
Through the good, the bad, the ugly, and the morally reprehensible, there is plenty of wisdom to be gained from the doctrine of Don Draper. I put together a list of 7 of my favorite Draper quotes – some challenging, some sentimental – that positively shifted my perspective:
“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”
“Is that what you want? Or is that what people expect of you?”
“The day you sign a client is the day you start losing one.”
“You want respect? Go out and get it for yourself.”
“It’s your life. You don’t know how long it’s gonna last, but you know it doesn’t end well. You’ve gotta move forward as soon as you can figure out what that means.”
“When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him. He has a million reasons for being anywhere. Just ask him.”
And last but certainly not least, an incredibly powerful quote from the pilot episode that foreshadows Don’s motivation for the entire show.
“Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.”
Don constantly struggled with balancing right and wrong, but that doesn’t discredit the validity of wisdom we can find in his words. Don may have been a cold, alpha-male type that only cared about money, women, and alcohol – when inside, he was a charitable, self-aware man who just wanted to be happy… that still only cared about money, women, and alcohol (but hey, baby steps). As anti-heroes are continuing to prove, you don’t have to be virtuous to be knowledgeable or successful, but these people shouldn’t be idolized. Because each character is so complex, it’s important to carefully discern between characteristics or ideologies you should and shouldn’t model in your own life. Don’t try to be Don Draper or any other morally compromised protagonist – be a better version.
**Bonus Quote** – “It’s your life. You don’t know how long it’s gonna last, but you know it doesn’t end well. You’ve gotta move forward… as soon as you can figure out what that means.”
